2024-25 National Cohort: New England Foundation for the Arts

Charlotte Abotsi | Providence, Rhode Island

Constituent Engagement Coordinator, City of Providence Department of Art, Culture + Tourism

Charlotte Abotsi is a poet and arts administrator raised in Providence, Rhode Island. She studied media production and rhetoric and writing at Rhode Island College. Her work as a poet has been featured in HuffPost and Mic.com, and her poems have been published in Wax Nine journal and The Chicago Reader. Abotsi has received fellowships from the Pink Door Writing Retreat, the Incubator for Community-Engaged Poets, Tin House, DreamYard’s Rad(ical) Poetry Consortium, AIR Serenbe, Define American, and Undocupoets. She previously co-curated season two of the poetry-based web series Ours Poetica for The Poetry Foundation.

With deep roots in creative arts organizing, Abotsi has been a longtime volunteer, mentor, and teaching artist with the Providence Poetry Slam at AS220. She currently serves as the constituent engagement coordinator for the City of Providence Department of Art, Culture + Tourism. In her administrative role, she facilitates the permitting process for public art and special events, collaborates with cultural heritage and arts organizations to support public programming, assists resource-seeking artists, and supports the department’s grant profiles. Abotsi also serves on the board of trustees for the Providence Public Library.

Fabian Barracks | Worcester, Massachusetts

Cultural Development Officer and Executive Director, Worcester Cultural Coalition

Fabian Barracks has been leading cultural transformation in Worcester, Massachusetts, since March 2023 as the city’s cultural development officer and executive director of the Worcester Cultural Coalition. With more than a decade of experience in the arts, Barracks brings a dynamic vision to fostering cultural vibrancy and inclusivity.

Before moving to Worcester, Barracks founded and managed a thriving theater and film company in Jamaica, where he wrote and directed 11 national theater projects and produced two impactful film series. His creative work focused on youth development and human rights advocacy, demonstrating his commitment to using the arts as a tool for social change. Additionally, Barracks served as a program coordinator for Jamaica’s National Family Planning Board, where he implemented strategies to expand access to sexual health testing and managed a team of 40 outreach professionals.

In Worcester, Barracks champions the city’s Cultural Plan, which embraces and celebrates cultural expression for all residents while promoting accessibility, equity, and economic revitalization through the arts. As the head of the Worcester Cultural Coalition, a public-private partnership of more than 90 arts and culture organizations, Barracks supports Worcester’s diverse cultural identity and fosters creative engagement that resonates with the entire community.

Barracks’ leadership is marked by a deep passion for cultural equity, innovation, and building connections across communities. His vision ensures that Worcester remains a hub of artistic excellence and cultural opportunity for all.

Katherine Leung | Milton, Vermont

Co-Organizer, Queer Art Club for LGBTQ+ artists and Vermont Cantonese Club

Katherine Leung is an artist, organizer, and former teacher living in Vermont. She is a former National Arts Strategies Creative Community Fellow, Yale University teaching fellow, Cleveland Institute of Art teaching resident, and Fulbright fellow. After years of teaching in underresourced schools and serving in various roles in labor union leadership, Leung now channels her passion for education and culture into community projects.

She co-organizes two monthly community groups: Queer Art Club for LGBTQ+ artists and Vermont Cantonese Club to support the rural Asian, Pacific Islander, and Desi American community. Leung’s pride and joy is Canto Cutie, a magazine she founded that showcases Cantonese diasporic artists from around the world. Canto Cutie has published seven volumes featuring works from more than 130 international artists, earning recognition from Vermont media outlets and prominent international arts organizations.

Athena Lynch | Portland, Maine

Artist, Community Arts Organizer

Athena Lynch is a transdisciplinary artist, curator, and activist whose work bridges sculpture, immersive installations, and placemaking to challenge narratives and foster inclusivity. A graduate of Maine College of Art & Design, she centers Black bodies and African diasporic perspectives, using performance, video, textiles, and site-specific engagement to chronicle ancestral stories and disrupt notions of monolithic Blackness. Guided by the Ghanaian principle of Sankofa, her practice reclaims erased histories and asserts Black presence.

Raymond Pinto | Bridgeport, Connecticut

Multidisciplinary Artist and Creative Researcher

Raymond Pinto, born and raised in Bridgeport, Connecticut, is a multidisciplinary artist and creative researcher whose practice spans dance, performance, filmmaking, sound design, printmaking, and sculpture. He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in dance from The Juilliard School and a Master of Arts in performance studies from New York University. Pinto has presented his work nationally and internationally at renowned institutions, including Participant Inc., the Institute for Contemporary Art at Virginia Commonwealth University, the Lagos Biennial (2024), 99 Canal, the Center for Performance Research, Judson Memorial Church, Hudson Eye, Architekturzentrum Wien, the Venice Biennale, and Art Omi.

Expanding in and through abstraction, Pinto’s work examines modes of reprieve from the ongoing dispossession experienced by Black and Brown communities. His practice draws deeply from the aesthetics of the African and Latinx diasporas, weaving themes of identity, migration, and resilience into his projects. Questioning opacity and immateriality, his work explores how time and movement might align to offer alternative perspectives on art’s relationship to beauty. At this stage in his career, Pinto is dedicated to engaging with his local community in Connecticut, fostering creativity and cultural diversity within disenfranchised populations. He believes in the transformative power of art to generate positive social change, even amidst the fluctuating political and economic conditions that challenge artistic creation.

Pinto’s practice underscores the power of art to unify, with the intention of uplifting difference without creating separation. His work seeks to uncover and shape opportunities for collective empowerment, fostering a shared sense of humanity while celebrating the richness of diverse identities. Through his practice, he strives to build pathways for collaboration and equity, using art as a catalyst for connection and social transformation.

Cecilia Ulibarri | Merrimack, New Hampshire

Visual Artist and Community Advocate

Cecilia Ulibarri is a dedicated visual artist, muralist, and community advocate based in New Hampshire, recognized for her impactful work in community arts. As the co-founder and executive director of Positive Street Art, she has led transformative urban art initiatives since 2011, empowering marginalized voices and fostering equitable communities through workshops, events, and public art projects. Ulibarri is passionate about using art as a vessel for positive change and is dedicated to developing programs and fostering collaborations to bring this vision to life.

Her contributions to the arts have earned her prestigious accolades, including NH Business Review’s NH 200, Young Professional of the Year, and Civic Leader of the Year from Stay Work Play New Hampshire. Ulibarri’s artistic journey is marked by her unwavering commitment to creative collaboration and community empowerment, solidifying her role as a leader and catalyst for social change in New Hampshire’s art scene.